It’s that exciting time of year when the sun in Seattle is starting to show again! With longer evenings and warmer weather ahead, it’s time to get ready for hiking season, road or trail running, and getting more active in the upcoming months!
Whether you have or haven’t already been training over the winter, here are some tips to help prevent irritated joints or that old lower-body injury from reoccurring.
Strength training
Running and hiking use very repetitive movements with your legs. A lot of overuse injuries from these activities could be prevented from better utilizing strength and cross-training. Strong muscles will also help you go faster and longer! Here are 5 exercises to give you a starting point. They can help prepare your muscles to take on the forces and demands required by hiking/running. I would recommend performing 2-3x/week for at least 6 weeks:
Step ups
Build strong muscles for going uphill and also downhill. Start with a bench or box ~12”. Step up with your right leg, then focus on an extra slow controlled lowering with your right leg returning to the ground. Do 3×10 each leg. If easy, you can add a backpack with light weight or dumbbells.
Airplane
Running requires a lot of stability in the hips, knees, ankles. If you lack that stability, then other joints will tend to feel discomfort during or after your run. To perform: Stand on one leg. Attempt to dip forward or hinge from your hip. As your trunk pivots forward, the back leg should come up to stay in line with the trunk. You can keep hands on your hips or arms out to side. Do 3×8 on both legs.
Side plank with clamshell
Continue building that hip stability! Perform a side plank on your forearm and knees. Keep pushing your hips up away from the ground. Then rotate your top knee towards the ceiling without the hips rolling backwards! Can do this with or without a band around your knees. Do 2-3 rounds of 15 on each leg.
Single leg calf raise
Building calf strength required for push off with running or going uphill! To perform: stand on the edge of a step and hold onto the railing. Lift heel up as high as you can and slowly (3-5 seconds) lower your heel towards the ground with control as far as it will go. Start with 3×8-10 reps and slowly increase to 3×15 reps by 1-2 reps each week.
Single leg squat
Will improve leg strength and knee tolerance for going downhills. To perform: stand on one leg and lower your body by bending your hip/knee. Keep your foot straight and try to sit back your weight into the hip. Try for 3×10 each leg.
Mileage
It’s all about gradually increasing your mileage/terrain. Slowly build up to a consistent strong base of at least 30 minutes or 3 miles. Once that feels comfortable, as a general rule of thumb don’t increase mileage more than 10% per week. If you’re starting from scratch, a walk/run program is a great option too!
Recovery
Make sure you have rest days within the week! Your body will need to recover from the increase in your usual activity. Sleep and nutrition are the biggest underrated recovery tools! Make sure you are getting 7-8 hours each night. It is also important to make sure you are eating healthy foods to help support your body. Have trouble with this? Now is a great time to talk with a registered dietitian to make sure you are fueling your body properly.
It can take a lot of work to stay strong and healthy, so if any issues continue to persist I recommend making an appointment at Proformance Rehab! We have great physical therapists who will take the time to fully analyze your movements and get down to the root cause of your problem. We have tools to perform video analysis of your running mechanics and also have a PT who specializes in providing custom orthotics, if necessary, for your body’s needs. Don’t let that nagging pain linger on for too long!
Thanks for reading our blog! I hope these tips are helpful and wishing you happy trails ahead!
-Jenny
